Beer: Ratings & Reviews

330mL bottle (best by 8/29/2010 on the cap) poured into a St. Bernardus chalice. Mahogany brown color with a thin fizzy head that dissipates quickly - nice carbonation continues to rise to the surface.

This beer totally lives up to the hype. The only thing I'm disappointed with is the head - but this beer is also 4+ years old, which may account for that. If I try another one I'll make sure to get it fresh.

(Note: This tasting was done side-by-side with Rochefort 10 and I found this beer just ever so slightly more impressive on the aroma and mouthfeel. Otherwise they were very close.)

a murky brown with a nice creamy head to it. Higher carb that I anticipated. smell is of dates, fig, grapeskin and caramalized brown sugar. Taste is all the same. Very strong on the dark fruit flavors. I was impressed by how strong the date and fig come out in this. Very good quad. Nice balanced flavors. Good mouthfeel, but a touch high on the carbonation. This was an '09 vintage.

I shared a few bottles with a handful of friends, poured into a Rochefort goblet.

It's a cloudy brown color very similar to the 8, with a finger or so of off-white head.

The aroma is heavenly, a blend of toffee, dark fruits, rich caramel, spices, a little floral hops, and just a slight tinge of alcohol. It's inviting, warm, and top notch.

The taste is more of the same, rich with flavors, each bursting through but none overpowering. It's like everything you would want in a good quad is there, toffee, dark fruit, floral hops, esters, a slight yeast funk, brewing spices... it's all there but nothing in so much quantity that it takes away from the rest.

A pure joy to drink, there's a reason this beer is considered by many to be the #1 beer in the world. I was worried it wouldn't live up to all the hype, but it absolutely did, and everyone else tasting it felt the same way.

T: A malty, rich entry dissolves into harmonious notes of milk chocolate, toffee, plums, raisins, figs, dates, cognac, and port. The finish is delicate, mellow, and exceptionally long with restrained notes of dark fruit and warming alcohol giving way to a pipe tobacco and earthy hop fade. Exceptional. I've never had a beer with a better flavor profile.

M: Full-bodied and substantial in the mouth. Starts off silky and smooth, but dries out nicely on the finish. Very satisfying and perfectly balanced for such a strong ale.

O: I simply cannot recommend this beer highly enough. An excellent example of Belgian monastic brewing at its finest.

T: taste very similar to smell....alcohol in this beer mellows perfectly with about 2 years on it - notes of massive dark fruits, esters, and Belgian yeasty spice goodness...lightly tart complexities as well

I have had it from the bottle (in a glass of course) twice now. Thank god I was sitting down both times.Truly is the only beer I have ever said that with and that's all that needs to be said. It tastes and smells wonderful. Malty, dark fruit, and earthy. The absolute best beer. I keep thinking others may overtake it from my favorites... like I said, it is still the only beer I have ever had that made my knees quiver.Can't wait to try this on tap some day.

Pours a cloudy chestnut brown with little light coming through it and showing some red at the top and bottom, with tons of bubbles racing up the beer; it looks like a thick porter or brown ale with a lot of sediment in it. This had the most amazing creamy tan head that poured 3 fingers thick and lasted about 5 minutes, literally. It was marvelous to look at as it faded extremely slowly, leaving good spotty lacing. A very impressive looking beer overall that was a sight to see.

Smells of caramel, syrup, sweet malt, yeast, brown sugar, pepper and light spices, herbs and faint molasses. The alcohol aroma was very mild and not a distraction, making for a nice sweet malty nose.

Tastes of caramel, syrup, sweet malt, yeast, brown sugar, pepper, light spices, mild floral hops, herbs, tea leaf, faint molasses, a sweet alcohol presence like rum or a port wine, and some dark fruit; this tastes like it was barrel aged and the fermentation leaves an overall sweet flavor that is complex and very tasty.

Mouthfeel is incredibly smooth and creamy, with basically no carbonation, a medium body that's chewy, and a buttery feel as it slides across the tongue that left a semi-dry finish.

This beer was a pleasure to drink and felt great as it went down. Very high drinkability, this was an outstanding beer that I am happy to have tried as it's not readily available in the US and I was lucky enough to try some brought back straight from Belgium. It went down so smooth and easy, hid the ABV with perfection so it wasn’t even a factor, and this beer was just impressive in every facet of this drinking experience. This beer lived up to the hype and is a very high recommendation.

Taste is as complex and dark as you'd expect from a quad and matches the aroma. It's drier and less sweet than some quads. Very creamy and thick. It finishes clean and dry. Every sip is a little different--one of the great qualities of the most complicated beers.

I had the opportunity to visit l'abbey of Saint Sixtus and their cafe, de Vrede, late in October 2010 with a beer tour group. We tasted all three beers. I waited a few months to review this and add comments just to see if time and more tasting would alter my opinion. It has not.

Everyone in our group had read and heard all the hype for years and quite frankly many in the group, including myself, were doubtful that any beer could live up it to such a reputation. For the record, although the beer by the six-pack is sometimes available for purchase and carryout at the cafe, it was not on the day of our visit. In reality, unless you live in the area or are visiting for a long time, you will probably never be able to buy any of the beer in great quantity. Check our their website to review their order and purchase system. If you are lucky enough and living right, their system allows you to purchase a couple of cases (sometimes more) through their reservation system. We did see an OCCASIONAL bottle for sale in beer stores such as Bier Temple in Brugge and Brussels. When I see Westvleteren for sale in the U.S. and it has a label on it or a different cap, etc. I wonder who did that? Certainly not the monks. I wonder if it is even the same beer. The individual bottles I saw around Belgium retailed for 14 Euro (close to $20 per bottle).

Now, on to the tasting!

We ordered all three and if memory serves me right, we paid about 3.5 Euro per beer. The beers arrived in bottles and the staff opened and poured each at the table (they weren't going to allow any unopened bottles to leave the premises). Poured into Westvleteren chalices. Naturally, we started with the 6, then the 8 and finally the 12. The 6 and 8 were great beer in their own right but we had come for the 12! Quite frankly we had been tasting beer for two weeks all over Belgium and the Netherlands and had some very fine beers, some well known and others from small artisan local breweries. I love Belgian ales and I doubted that any beer could top my favorites. I was looking and hoping to find fault. I did not. The 12 was pure perfection.

I won't spend my time rehashing what most reviewers have already covered. You already know the color, feel, etc. I will say the smell is heavenly and unlike any I had ever experienced. I wondered if the taste would match. It did. I will concur with those that were amazed at the complexity of the taste (earthy, dark fruits, sweet, etc. ) and how well masked the alcohol was. This beer slowly crept up on us and just covered us. This will be the taste against which I will always measure similar styles of beer. I will be chasing the memory of that taste and the rest of my beer drinking days. It was just different and a notch above everything else. We may have been drunk as we walked out of the cafe, but we all agreed that . . . yes . . . there is a God and he has his hand in this endeavor!

I have had a couple of 12s since that day, both had been aged for a couple of years. Great, but not the same. Perhaps the travel and heat altered it. Fresh is what I will always remember. The monks advocate drinking it fresh and from my experience . . . I have to agree.

Amazing Quad. Ordered this one online, vastly overpriced, but I had to try it. Quads aren't my personal favorite style, but for a Quad this is definitely the best in my opinion. Very flavorful, with a nice level of sweetness and an interesting level of hops. Alcohol felt well masked. It poured a dark brown with perfect head left on top. Wish this was more readily available, but if I get the chance, I will definitely purchase again. Lives up to the hype.

Very nice beer, aroma of honey, yeast, clove, bread, schocolad (?) malt, dark fruits and vanilla. Big taste - honey, dark fruit, bread, nice hops, candy sugar, yeast and light earthinessIt is the king of beer. He has a great background. Pity that it can not simply buy

Thanks to Jeffo much kindly for the Westvleteren trade. A fresh one here, bottle cap dated 22.09.13. Poured into an official Westvleteren chalice. Smoke and big gas pop upon opening.

A great appearance consisting of a creamy off tan/white head that has peaks and valleys. Whipped up meringue like topping. Body is a nice dark ruby red and some chestnut/walnut dark brown with a see through quality but dark to actually see through. Lacing while drinking is exceptional consisting of scatters waves of foam while drinking. Once again like their blonde, an amazing appearance.

Nose though is almost non existent. Closed and muted a subtle hint of alcohol heat over top a juicy grape. Nose opens up after a couple of sips more so slightly. Hints of grainy ripping husk sense too after opening, perhaps some raisin/dates sense.

Taste though, is an example I think of why lots of people cellar this beer. A very noticeable and overpowering hot alcohol heat that sits on top of a juicy grape palate. Alcohol masks much of the malt and fruit component but does bring interesting play. Much of the boozy feels like a junipery gin with classic botanicals and so forth. Texture is solid even creamy to some extent giving that juicy feeling. There is a tannic quality to this like the 8 but more like a nut than barrel/wood with a teeth coating chew.

Overall man I wish this wasn't so hot. It feels like a typical hot young wine that needs to age maybe that will make it better? Would love to age this and try it again some day in the future.

A: Pours a very healthy head into a tulip with heavy lacing. Dark muddy brown in color with tiny visible bubbles coming to the top of the glass.

S: There is a lot of bubblegum mixing with figs, dates, prunes, and plums. A dry belgian yeast aroma with caramelized sugars.

T: First sip was a little more bitter than I had expected. There is a deep fig taste with plenty of bittering characteristics, a dry tongue buckling presence of either oak barrels or a large dosing of bittering hops. There are caramelized sugars all over mixing nicely with a dark belgian candied sugar presence.

M: Perfect mouthfeel really. There is a medium body with a mild carbonation. Slick rolling mouthfeel that stayed consistent.

O: It lived up to its name. Glad to try this before hitting up Belgium in a few weeks. I will be sure to take notes of all the other great beers I am trying out there.

T: Again, subtle sweetness that's VERY smooth and unbelievably well-balanced. Some bitterness and alcohol in the finish but not much. I did my best to savor this bottle but at the same time, I know I could put down a lot if an abundant supply was in front of me.

M: Carbonation is there but it's not very noticeable (the perfect amount, IMO). I wouldn't say it's thick although I am leaning in that direction.

O: Wasn't sure what I'd think after reading so much about it, but this definitely lives up to its reputation IMO. The overall balance is unreal and it was a complete pleasure to drink in almost every way. It is going to be a total challenge to save my 2nd bottle.

Thanks goes out to AleWatcher for this bottle, and Nrbw23 for the Westvleteren chalice. Shared with my girlfriend.

Best by 10.03.13

AppearanceI've never seen a quad with a head like this, wow. Its very rocky and airy, but also very frothy. The froth is a dirty sand color. It leaves loose, torn off lacing all over the place. The beer got quite muddy after I added the bottom on the bottle. The bottle was perfectly settled, until my girlfriend knocked it over right before I was about to open it. Oh well. I got a few chunks in the thick head. The color is a nice purple-brown with plenty of red hues as well.

AromaThis stuff smells very good, but perhaps just short of exceptional in the ranks of all the amazing Belgian quads; Pannepot, Rochefort 10, St Bernardus 12 etc. There is a very familiar, comforting quality to this aroma. Bread pudding smells make up the bulk of this bouquet. It seems laced with cinnamon-sugar and rum, lots of spiced rum. Rum soaked dates and figs build a venerable middle. There are also notions of sourdough and/or a crusty dark bread.

TasteThis stuff is quite sweet, but when done right, that's something I don't mind. The front of the initial sip was pure prune, raisin and fig. There is a lovely vanilla creaminess to the middle of this beer that I did not expect, but welcome heartily. All the way through there is a lot of spice and spicy rum-like alcohol. Honey-roasted/caramelized nuts come to mind as the beer warms. The dregs of the beer unlock a very nice candied banana taste, but the dregs also open up a rougher, more alcoholic, almost medicinal finish.

MouthfeelThere is a lot of carbonation, as to be expected from a beer that hissed so loudly upon opening and poured with such an immediate head. The carbonation is very fluffy, soft, smooth and pleasant, however. Even through a higher level of carbonation, this beer's thick body still is perceived as full. This beer is sweet, so its slightly sticky on the lips, but not enough to cause discomfort.

OverallThis, perhaps, was the beer I have been most excited for from day one on BA. I never really hunted it, I knew it would always be there. Leave it to AleWatcher to make it happen for me when I wasn't even trying. This ended up being one of my favorite beers of what is probably my favorite style. I'll have to get more than one bottle of this soon.

Taste: Sweet but not in a cloying way. Extremely smooth. Some Belgian spice with hints of brown sugar and dark fruit. There is a slight bitterness in the finish along with the sweetness. Hardly any alcohol taste at all.

Mouthfeel: Body is just on the thick side with smooth tingly carbonation and a slight dryness in the finish.

Overall: Just an amazing beer. Everything blends together perfectly. Kind of reminds me of a super smooth barleywine. I definitely want to have more in the future.

Bottle cap is dated 09/08/09 so this bottle is 5 years old. One of the last few that I have left from the original case.

Pours with a murky brown/amber with a short-lived 1-finger tan head that falls to a partial cover without much lace.

The aroma is rich with dark fruits and candied sugar; it's very enticing and just smells warm and inviting.

The taste is a lot more of these tasty, dark fruits and candied sugar. It's noticeably sweet which could be a problem yet isn't in this beer. All of the flavors are still there but have mellowed quite nicely and, surprisingly so, I am able to detect just a hint of alcohol.

Mouthfeel is smooth and medium tending toward full with barely there carbonation that doesn't affect the taste adversely.

Overall: I have had about 15 bottles from this case over the past 5 years. I tried to space them out while giving/sharing the others. I hope this has diminished the hype/rarity factor so that I am not too swayed by those factors. So, even at 5 years this is a wonderful, tasty beer. I may have liked it better at 3 years or even fresh but it has held up well. For those who like Rochefort 10 or any other quads this is a beer that you must try. It may not live up to the hype, for some, but it's worth the try. Even my cat loved the drop I put on the table for her. I guess it's nearly impossible to do but I wish a USA company could replicate this beer.

Served in a Rochefort goblet, pours a dark brown colour with a thin tan bubbly head. Leaves a thin layer of lacing down the glassware.Nose is very balanced; brown sugar, pear, apples, sweet malts, Belgian yeast.Taste remains sweet, and is well rounded. Malt body highlighted by apple accents, light fruits and the distinct yeast strain. More brown sugar and grapes follow into the finish.High carbonation and medium bodied mouthfeel.Overall, I was pretty impressed with this Trappist concoction, figured the hype wouldn't live up to itself seeing as its not a preferred style of mine. However I must admit it was worth its price tag, albeit once...a must try. Top of its style for me, beats St. Bernardus 12 and Rochefort 10 personally. Not something I would care to drink regularly thankfully given its rarity, and no where near best beer in the world.But thats just me.

What is there to say about the best beer in the world. In the end of March I got the Westvleteren 12, as a gift from my parents. This opened a hole new beer world for me. Before I have never heard of such rare and special beer. I always thought, and still do, that beer is there to share and enjoy. Therefore beer must be widely available. After this introduction to very special beers, my learning ladder looked like a speedway and as a result I am now on BA. Because special beers need to be shared.

OK enough chitchat;

A-Nice dark brown, hazy fluid with nice head that disappears slowly.

S- Wood, wine and peat

T- A very nice beer with nut flavors, some vanilla. A bit sweet in balance with the bitterness.

O- A good beer, but worlds best??? I don't think one can say there is only one best beer in the world.

Due to the availability issues, I would rather drink Trappistes Rochefort 10 and St. Bernardus 12.

Today (13-09-2011) I tasted a Westy 12 once more at the 'Vrede' next to the monastery Sint-Sixtus. What a great beer!! We discovered (my buddy Ed and I) that when this beer is served, not to cold but say around 17-18 degrees Celcius, it is absolutely World Class. Nothing comes close. You can drink this beer anytime of the day and take any kind of meal with it, it will hold.